Irenaeus

Saint Irenaeus was born in Smyrna in Anatolia (modern İzmir, Turkey) sometime between about 120 and 130. Raised in a Christian family, he learned the faith close to the apostles’ memory, having heard Saint Polycarp preach—Polycarp himself was believed to have known Saint John the Evangelist. Irenaeus later traveled west and became a priest of the Church in Lugdunum (now Lyon, France). During a fierce persecution under Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the suffering Christians of Lyon sent him to Rome in 177 with a message for Pope Eleutherius. When he returned, he succeeded the martyred Saint Pothinus as the second bishop of Lyon, strengthening the wounded Church with pastoral care and missionary zeal. Around 180 he wrote Against Heresies, courageously refuting Gnostic teachings and defending the Church’s faith through Scripture, apostolic tradition, and the witness of bishops as successors of the apostles. He also urged unity in disputes over the date of Easter. Honored as a martyr and named a Doctor of the Church in 2022, he is celebrated on June 28.